Despite Outage, Travelers Going Through the Central Wisconsin Airport Made it to Their Destination

Thursday, January 12th, 2023 -- 10:00 AM

(Mike Leischner, WSAU) All travelers through the Central Wisconsin Airport were able to make it to their next destination on Wednesday despite a widespread outage.

Airport Director Brian Grefe says being a smaller facility it was easier to clear their congestion and get all flights running by nine AM. "You don't have that huge backlog of people and parked aircraft. We were able to get our flights moving."

He says they also had to deal with some freezing rain. "It was a busy morning to say the least. But with our storm removal crew and the talented folks at the airlines, we got it open as quick as we could."

And he says because all airports nationwide were in the same boat, many travelers likely found fewer hiccups when they got to their next airport. "Because the planes were also grounded. I imagine everybody got where they need to be just a bit later."

He says since the application in question- the Notice to air mission system, isn't run by the airport or the airlines, so he can't comment on what led to the situation. "Really more of a question for the FAA and who they use to manage their system."

He credits his staff with helping everyone navigate the situation. "To that we wanted to make sure that while very inconvient for people that were traveling today, they had as good as an experience as possible at the Central Wisconsin Airport."

All flights were grounded Wednesday morning due to the federal aviation administration's Notice to Air Missions system which alerts pilots to any obstacles they may encounter, such as runway debris or construction.

It remains unclear what caused the outage, federal officials are promising an investigation.

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